Why do we use magic? Is it so that we can cast spells to
get what we want? Well, yes, but if that’s all you think it does, you're
missing the point. Using magic is not about filling your life with all the material
crap you might desire. Magic is the divine power that permeates the universe,
so if you simply suck on it like a calf from a teat, you will be back to repeat
this life over and over again, never ascending beyond the earthly plane. The best
reason to use magic is to evolve into higher beings – to ascend. The path to
ascension lies in learning how to use magic.
Does this mean that the material plane is bad and
we should seek to escape from it? It does not. Too many people already seek
to escape the lessons of growth found on the material plane by seeking some
amazing afterlife. The paradox behind the lesson of magic is that only by
embracing that we exist in this material world for now, can we move to the next
step. There is yet another step to take and it is only by facing the lessons that are immediately before us can we transition to the next stage in our journey. Think of
it this way. When you are taking a road-trip, you might stop at a diner to get
something to eat. When you are done, you move on, not because you hated the
diner and because the next stop is so much better than the diner, but because
your purpose for being at the diner has been fulfilled. It is just one stop on
the journey. It is a stop at which you got some food, got some rest, but
possibly also met some interesting people – perhaps your server or another
traveler – that helped you to enjoy your dining experience or to appreciate
something else about the world or even to learn that you really hate eating borscht. Like the diner, the material plane is not
better or worse than the step to which we are going, it is simply the step at
which we are now. Since this is where we are now, let’s do what we are here to do, which is experience it without being deviated from the idea that we are still on a journey.
Let’s follow the metaphor further. While at the
diner, you might be served an amazing meal and a truly divine pecan pie! Could
the pie be so good that you never want to leave the diner ever again? I have
not yet had a pie that good, but you might still enjoy it better than any pie
you’ve ever had before. And yet, when the pie is eaten, you get back in the car
and continue on. You do not stay in the diner until closing, gorging yourself
on slice after slice of pie. Similarly, becoming mired in the pleasures of the
material plane does not serve your journey. Pleasure is one of the lessons to
experience here, but so are fear and discontent. All of these things are here for us to experience
because that’s what our job is while we are here. They are not blessed or
sinful, they simply are. But by becoming so damaged by hardship that you seek
to escape this world, or allowing yourself to become driven to load all of your
experiences with only pleasure, are the surest ways to miss learning the
lessons of the material plane. They are the surest ways of returning here again
and again until it finally clicks what your real work in this world should be.
Those who study Wicca or other related magical
systems are well aware of the Witch’s Pyramid. It guides the inner study of
the witch such that magical work can become possible. But from where did this
lesson emerge and what does it really mean to the witch? So many Wiccans with
whom I’ve crossed paths tend to confuse the lessons of the pyramid or only
grasp it in a limited way. They certainly do not really concern themselves with applying its teachings to improve.
Despite the old origins of its story, the rise to prominence
of the Witches Pyramid started with the Hermetic Kabbalah occultist, Eliphas
Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) in the mid nineteenth century. His writings
comprised the most influential and the majority of the source material from
which the Golden Dawn created their system, as well as those of the occultist
and tarotist, Oswald Wirth. The Golden Dawn, in turn, greatly influenced Gerald
Gardner and the New Forest coven. This is why so much of Levi’s writings are
still present in contemporary Wicca today. If we go back to the source
material, we find some interesting lessons about how magic functions as a
mechanism to evolve mankind.
To assist my thesis, I’m going to refer to certain
cards of a particular tarot deck, because the signposts of the magical work
towards mankind’s evolution were conveniently placed there. One caveat: In the
last 200 years, attempts have been made to link tarot cards to the glyphs of
Egypt and the system of Kabbalah. I am
making no such attempt. This entry is not claiming to link all tarot cards with
any ancient esoteric or occult doctrine. To be sure, A. E. Waite redesigned the
trumps of the tarot to fit his speculation that they were a repository of
esoteric knowledge. Maybe he was right and maybe he was wrong. I’m not claiming
either. I’m simply using the deck designed by Waite because it borrowed some of
Levi’s symbols and composed them into a system of iconography that helps to
explain how mankind can evolve using the philosophy of the Witch’s Pyramid.
Just what is magic,
exactly? Levi reveals this about magic in the Dogma et Rituel de la Haute Magie (translated by A. E. Waite, 1896):
Magic is the traditional science of the secrets of
Nature which has been transmitted to us from the Magi. By means of this science
the adept is invested with a species of relative omnipotence and can operate
superhumanly, that is, after a manner which transcends the normal possibility
of men.
Magi is simply an
archaic word meaning “masters.” They are simply people who have figured it all
out. Aren’t those the same guys who followed that star on Christmas morning?
Yep, they were the wisest magicians from three different cultures. The gifts they gave
were symbols of occult knowledge, not simply material wealth. Did you ever
notice how the characters of Mary and Joseph, who were poor nomads, were never
represented being thrilled that gold was given to their infant son? The story
does not tell of them taking the gold around the town, trying to buy a nicer
room for their newborn. The fact that three very valuable things – royal gifts –
were just placed into the ownership of an infant in their care doesn’t faze
them at all. Perhaps this is because the Magi didn’t actually give them
material goods, but instead something symbolic. But this is a digression.
In the middle ages, "the
secrets of Nature" were researched by alchemists and theologians. It was
believed that the keys to understanding the true face of the divine lied in
studying the natural world around us. Most alchemists were priests, monks and
friars. Alchemy led to “physic,” which led to chemistry and eventually to modern
medicine and the scientific method of test and repeat. Today the secrets of
Nature are sought only by the scientific and technological disciplines.
Somewhere along the way, science and religion became estranged. They have never
reconciled. What we are really discussing here is not the separation of science and religion but the estrangement of logic and faith. Levi tells us that this is not at all beneficial, though perhaps necessary.
Read what Levi writes about the power of magic:
Read what Levi writes about the power of magic:
. . . there exists in Nature a force which is
immeasurably more powerful than steam, and a single man, who is able to adapt
and direct it, might change thereby the face of the whole world. . . . By the direction
of this agent it is possible to modify the very order of the seasons; to
produce at night the phenomena of day; to correspond instantaneously between
one extremity of the earth and the other; to see, like Apollonius, what is
taking place on the other side of the world; to heal or injure at a distance;
to give speech a universal success and reverberation.
Levi’s words are
describing exactly what has happened in our modern world thanks to technology. We can
create isolated environments that allow crops to grow all year, we can turn to
dust whole nations of people from afar, we can light up the night and talk
with people around the world, all with the flick of a switch. All of these
things are amazing creations. Certainly, if we were to show them to a person at
the time of the birth of Jesus, or even a monk in the Middle Ages, we would surely be
thought of as adept magicians, super-humans or possibly even gods. So how do we get there? What steps must we take so that we can use this power and evolve?
The first tarot card
we should inspect is The Magician. This is our first evolutionary signpost. Here
we find a person with great focus on his face. This man represents mankind, learning
our magical lessons. One hand holds a white, double-sided wand above his head and the other points to the ground. The particular wand he uses is not like the rough staff that lies on the table; instead, it is symbolic of divine grace, purity and power. The ground, where the man is
pointing, represents the plane of the material and the plane of solid
manifestation. The magician is attempting to function as a conduit, to transform
divine power into material existence. He stands in a garden of flowers (material desires) attempting to tap into the power of the divine above him -- trying to call it down to earth. What tools does he use to do this? They
are the four elements, which are symbolically laid out before him on the table. The message
here is that working with divine power requires application of the four
elements to make divine power manifest in this world. Above his head is the symbol
of infinity marking him as one with the potential to join with the infinite divine. Unfortunately,
the Magician is functioning separately from the elements. He views the divine
power as outside of himself rather than as within and part of him, which is why they lay on the square table before him (look for this shape later). Traditionally, the card
represents a magus, but the subtleties of the symbols show that science and technology are yet unable to reconcile with faith. The elements
of Nature are things to be manipulated by him, rather than powers with which he
unifies to elevate himself. This is where most of us begin -- with the use of tools -- so we should not be surprised that this card is number 1.
How do we incorporate the elements into ourselves to achieve evolution? That answer lies in the Witch’s Pyramid.
The elements of the Witch’s
Pyramid – elements that nearly every witch can recite – are traditionally “to know, to will, to
dare, to keep silent.” This is the order that it is most often regurgitated,
presumably because it flows off the tongue or out of the memory more easily that
way. But let’s look at what Levi says about each step:
To attain the SANCTUM REGNUM, in other words, the
knowledge and power of the Magi, there are four indispensable conditions – an
intelligence illuminated by study, an intrepidity which nothing can check, a
will which cannot be broken, and a prudence which nothing can corrupt and
nothing intoxicate. TO KNOW, TO DARE, TO WILL, TO KEEP SILENCE – such are the
four words of the Magus, inscribed upon the four symbolical forms of the
sphinx.
Notice the order of the
four steps. Here is what Levi says about why they are put in that order: “In
order to DARE we must KNOW; in order to WILL, we must DARE; we must WILL to
possess empire and to reign we must BE SILENT.” So we see that one lesson flows
from the one before it.
To recap what each one
means:
TO KNOW - an intelligence illuminated by study
TO DARE - an intrepidity (courage) which nothing
can check
TO WILL - a will which cannot be broken
TO KEEP SILENCE - a prudence which nothing can
corrupt and nothing intoxicate
. . . his the human head, in order to possess speech; his the eagle’s wings, in order to scale the heights; his the bull’s flanks, in order to furrow the depths; his the lion’s talons, to make a way on the right and the left, before and behind.So the traditional image of the sphinx, which is usually the winged body of a lion with the head of a man, is incomplete. The esoteric sphinx would be more correct with the winged body of a bull that has the head of a man and the claws of a lion. The body of the bull is essential to incorporate the strength of that elemental power, which we will examine shortly.
How did these particular symbols get into the sphinx as representations of each element? Each of these four elements are present because of their astrological correspondences. The man is Aquarius, a sign of air. The bull is Taurus, a sign of earth. The lion is Leo, a sign of fire. The eagle is Scorpius, a sign of water. But there are three star signs for each of the elements, so why use these particular signs of the zodiac? Because these constellations made up a group of special constellations in ancient Babylon, which is where western astronomy and the mysteries of Kabbalah began to form. They were the constellations that rose at dawn on the Solstices and Equinoxes each year, and so were known as “royal signs.” As such, they represent the great cross that connect the four cardinal points of the sky. The Biblical prophet, Ezekiel, was exiled by the Babylonians and likely incorporated these symbols into his vision, which he wrote into his book that was later canonized. (Those who discount the Bible as a useless book of myth fail to capitalize on the rich esoteric symbology, especially Kabbalistic, which is hidden within.)
Through their astrology, the qualities of the sphinx represent the four elements with which we must work to achieve mastery. Levi describes what we are called to do if we are to gain this mastery:
You are called to be king of air, water, earth and
fire; but to reign over these four living creatures of symbolism, it is
necessary to conquer and enchain them. He who aspires to be a sage and to know
the Great Enigma of Nature must be the heir and despoiler of the sphinx ....
The symbols of Ezekiel were woven into the tarot
card The Wheel of Fortune. A more correct name for this card would be “the
cycle of karma” or “the cycle of reincarnation.” Karma is not a system of
payback or come-uppance as most people believe. Karma is the life path or
purpose that is most true for each of us. It is our path to godhood. When we deviate
from it, we experience hardship. But when we pay attention to the
signs and follow our true path, life improves. Here the wheel represents our
continually regenerating lives on the material plane. We repeat our life lessons,
both easy and difficult, going up and down the wheel. In control of the wheel
is the sphinx, which has already incorporated the four elements into herself. She
is an integrated human that is not bound by the cycle of rebirth, yet remains connected to the material world. She poses
to us her riddle every time we go around the wheel (the mystery of rebirth). The
four elemental angels (angel means “messenger”) surround the wheel as watchers
and keepers of the records of our progress.
The Greeks told a tale of the sphinx in the epic of Oedipus. In that tale, the sphinx related an important riddle that, if answered, would allow Oedipus to rise to royal status. This story is symbolic of the life journey. Oedipus represents each of us attempting to master the four elements of Nature. Mastery would allow us to become elevated to a status higher than our normal human selves (transcending the normal possibility of mankind). The essence of the riddle is to ask what kind of creature can transform – become malleable and adaptable – as the journey of life passes. The answer of this very esoteric of riddles is that only mankind holds the power of ascending. Levi states for us:
The Greeks told a tale of the sphinx in the epic of Oedipus. In that tale, the sphinx related an important riddle that, if answered, would allow Oedipus to rise to royal status. This story is symbolic of the life journey. Oedipus represents each of us attempting to master the four elements of Nature. Mastery would allow us to become elevated to a status higher than our normal human selves (transcending the normal possibility of mankind). The essence of the riddle is to ask what kind of creature can transform – become malleable and adaptable – as the journey of life passes. The answer of this very esoteric of riddles is that only mankind holds the power of ascending. Levi states for us:
The combination of these four types of face and being represents the Created Universe, a complete and eternal entity, Man in fact, the Microcosm; and this is the first formula of the mystical explanation of the enigma of the Sphinx.Only man has the ability to overcome his limitations to transform into more than he is now.
What does it mean to “master the elements?” Levi tells us that too.
You
are called to be king of air, water, earth and fire; but to reign over these
four living creatures of symbolism, it is necessary to conquer and enchain
them. He who aspires to be a sage and to know the Great Enigma of Nature must
be the heir and despoiler of the sphinx: his the human head, in order to
possess speech; his the eagle’s wings, in order to scale the heights; his the
bull’s flanks, in order to furrow the depths; his the lion’s talons, to make a
way on the right and the left, before and behind.
What do we need to do to “conquer and enchain” them? In more modern words, you are tasked with defeating
your fears. To find mastery and do it well, you must not fear to stretch your mind
as far as it can go, be ambitious to great heights of success, have the
strength to face and master your darker self, and have the fierceness to fight
against any opposition. Only by conquering your fears can you become a complete master
of your life. You must become the sphinx. The great secret of Hermetic
philosophy is that the power to do that – the power of all four elements – is inside you
right now. Four “angels” are inside you right now. The very transformative
power of the divine is inside you right now. You have the ability to transform
yourself right now to be great. You simply need to overcome your fear and do
the work.
To accomplish this lesson, we must be like the figure in the card Temperance. Unlike any of the other figures representing the four elements, this figure has wings. Most tend to explain this by claiming that he is an angel and indeed he is, but not more so than any of the non-winged figures we will meet. This figure has wings because, despite that he is a water-bearer and just like the star sign Aquarius, he represents the element of air. The brilliant light of intelligence shines from his head. He focuses intently on pouring water from one vessel into another, despite the unsteady endeavor of standing with one foot on the sure earth and the other in the uncertainty of water. It is a precise operation that he could not do without an understanding of the properties of the water, the cups and the physical laws that govern the world. Also, the pouring act attempts to portion the water, which is an intellectual act of measurement. Despite being divine, this figure is very much a scientist. Behind him is the long path that leads to the crown of achievement.
We must “make way on the
right and the left, before and behind.” This condition asks us to overcome the
fear of opposition. External obstacles must be torn away with the lion’s claws, no
matter from which direction they arise to challenge our wills. Because this is
a condition of the will, our will must be fierce, like the claws of the
lion! In the card of Strength, we see a figure that is demure, but not afraid
to face the ferocity of a lion. With very little struggle, she closes the fang-filled
jaws of the lion. Fearless, she exerts complete control over the animal despite that it
could kill her.
“Scaling the heights”
is what we do when we do not fear to succeed. This lesson speaks of ambition and wisdom.
This is not the ambition of greed; it is the ambition of achievement. The
latter is a reward unto itself and provides a boon to all mankind, rather than
simply to the individual. Not being afraid to try for a goal that seems out of
reach is the lesson of the eagle. Again, the Fool card, by being a card without
value and with a degrading name, shows us who we will be if we do not aspire to
be more. Conquering a fear of success is what turns us into the figure in
the Chariot card. Here we see a warrior returning from a battle in his chariot,
the vehicle of war. His vehicle is lashed to sphinxes of two opposite colors
before him, which he commands. They are the duality of the universe – yin and
yang, male and female, light and dark, this and not-this. He has shown that he
is not afraid of the labels and boxes of the world that seek to categorize us.
He can be fully himself, in control of any condition to which he is challenged. Likewise in war, prudence and
silence are important. Spies are all around and multiple battalions must all be
placed correctly. Prudence is the wisdom to manage all of the material assets in
your arsenal to bring about your success, but without the unnecessary loss of
life. Such important management is impossible if you spend too much time boasting
of your plans, thus allowing others to influence or disrupt your management.
The completion of man’s evolution is seen in the
tarot trump of The World. Perhaps a better name for this card would be “the Universe,”
for that’s what essentially opens up to us when we incorporate the lessons of
magic and gain mastery. The garland is the divine boundary between our material
world and the void out of which all things emanated at
the beginning of time; the area inside it is the divine area inside the magic
circle, which is at once, both and neither a particular time or a place. The
symbols of cosmic vastness, which floated above the heads of the Magician and Strength,
are now wrapped around this divine boundary. The figure is female, as was the
sphinx, because here, the four elements of the material world have separated
from that first figure to stay behind on the material plane. She represents us
once we have moved to the higher plane, no longer needing interaction with the
material in the way we once did. Also, she is the Sophia (wisdom), which was
present with the divine at the time of creation. The wands now exist in both hands because she
is no longer simply a passive wire for power; she can now freely draw in and
project power at will. She has become the Magus. This card is an image of the
great work, which alchemists and Hermeticists called the “Magnum Opus.” The
ultimate goal of the Magnum Opus is to master the power of creation – a power
that is only accessible to man and to the divine – to become masters of
ourselves and our world, so that we can ascend one step closer to being one
with the great divine.
Addendum (in my own opinion)
It has come to my attention that, in recent years, the Witches Pyramid has had ascribed to it a fifth principle: "To Go." I believe this is happening from a misguided attempt to correlate the pyramid with the pentagram. The pentagram is a very different symbol and does not discuss the hermetic principle symbolized by the pyramid. The pentagram is a symbol of the unity of the five elements of the universe, not the principles employed by hermetic students to understand how to evolve the spirit. Though I'm fine with people developing whatever mnemonic device they feel is helpful, I do not agree with inventing something that never was while claiming that it did. The pyramid has older names including the "Hermetic Quaternary" and the "Four Powers of the Magus." Both of these names specify four principles, not five, because the new principle that has been invented is clearly not necessary. The four principles are forward-moving principles, so to state that one must then go is redundant to the goal. It also shows a failure to understand what is being taught.
The hermetic magical principles are not symbolized by the corners of the pyramid, but by the faces. There are four triangular faces representing the principles. They are supported by a square face that is hidden. Triangles are symbolic of active properties. Squares are symbolic of manifestation. The surprise to most is that we are not trying to metaphorically travel to the peak of the pyramid. Too many people assume incorrectly that the only way to symbolize the attainment of higher states of being is with a literal movement upward. However, in this case, what is revealed comes from looking at the face of the pyramid that we cannot see. On each of the active faces rests one of the elemental angels, as we saw in the Wheel of Fortune, above. On the base is the manifested figure of the Sphinx herself, for she represents the unity of the elements. Only through unifying the powers of the elements do we gain manifestation. This is the core lesson of magical work.
To help visualize this, I will provide you with a teaching tool that I use with my own students: A paper pyramid that you fold and keep as a visual aid. I also keep one of these in my library, on which I reflect from time to time. Just cut around the outer edge and fold on the grey lines, then glue together.
Addendum (in my own opinion)
It has come to my attention that, in recent years, the Witches Pyramid has had ascribed to it a fifth principle: "To Go." I believe this is happening from a misguided attempt to correlate the pyramid with the pentagram. The pentagram is a very different symbol and does not discuss the hermetic principle symbolized by the pyramid. The pentagram is a symbol of the unity of the five elements of the universe, not the principles employed by hermetic students to understand how to evolve the spirit. Though I'm fine with people developing whatever mnemonic device they feel is helpful, I do not agree with inventing something that never was while claiming that it did. The pyramid has older names including the "Hermetic Quaternary" and the "Four Powers of the Magus." Both of these names specify four principles, not five, because the new principle that has been invented is clearly not necessary. The four principles are forward-moving principles, so to state that one must then go is redundant to the goal. It also shows a failure to understand what is being taught.
The hermetic magical principles are not symbolized by the corners of the pyramid, but by the faces. There are four triangular faces representing the principles. They are supported by a square face that is hidden. Triangles are symbolic of active properties. Squares are symbolic of manifestation. The surprise to most is that we are not trying to metaphorically travel to the peak of the pyramid. Too many people assume incorrectly that the only way to symbolize the attainment of higher states of being is with a literal movement upward. However, in this case, what is revealed comes from looking at the face of the pyramid that we cannot see. On each of the active faces rests one of the elemental angels, as we saw in the Wheel of Fortune, above. On the base is the manifested figure of the Sphinx herself, for she represents the unity of the elements. Only through unifying the powers of the elements do we gain manifestation. This is the core lesson of magical work.
To help visualize this, I will provide you with a teaching tool that I use with my own students: A paper pyramid that you fold and keep as a visual aid. I also keep one of these in my library, on which I reflect from time to time. Just cut around the outer edge and fold on the grey lines, then glue together.